The government wants to prevent discontent from swelling a little more.
Bakers, hit hard by inflation, will be able to terminate their electricity supply contract free of charge in the event of a "prohibitive" price increase and insofar as it "threatens the survival of the company", announced Tuesday the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, after a meeting with electricity suppliers in Bercy.
This “exceptional” measure which exclusively targets bakers will be applied “on a case-by-case basis” by energy companies, however warned Bruno Le Maire, without detailing what the terms will be.
The measure is primarily aimed at craftsmen who suffer the "double penalty" of the rise in the price of energy and raw materials.
Its effect is limited to one pitfall: that of finding a cheaper offer from another supplier.
The suppliers present at the meeting on Tuesday – EDF, Engie, TotalEnergies but also Anode, which represents energy companies other than the former monopolies – have also undertaken to fully apply a charter which they signed in October and which the bakers and Bruno The Mayor accuses them of not respecting.
“Those who do not commit, in the coming days, to enforcing it will see their name disclosed”, further threatened the minister.
Payment deferrals
SMEs and in particular the 33,000 bakers in France will be able to “request the deferral of the payment of their taxes and social security contributions” to relieve their cash flow, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced in the morning on Franceinfo.
The head of government also wants these small traders to be able to spread her payment over several months.
“Today, suppliers do not help bakers and SMEs enough.
I ask them to do more, better, and immediately, ”insisted the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, in the morning, after a meeting in Bercy with representatives of the bakery sector.
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"Suppliers do not help bakers and SMEs enough", maintains Bruno Le Maire
"I am sorry to see that the commitments that have been made" in a charter signed in October by the energy companies "are not respected", had deplored the number 2 of the government, threatening to name the faulty companies if they did not commit not to correct their behavior at the meeting scheduled for the afternoon.
The government notably criticizes the energy companies for putting the knife to the throats of small entrepreneurs, forced to accept offers within very tight deadlines.
Some electricity supply contracts offered to SMEs would also lack readability, according to the executive, who will send a "personalized" letter to bakers in France in the coming days to encourage them to take advantage of already existing aid such as the shock absorber or the electricity counter.